Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono
by Xezion Musuashi
Summary: A person that Rika has yet to encounter suddenly appears and things start to take paths that she had never before seen. Will this persons' appearance mean the end of her eternal despair, or a worse cycle than before? Reviews and criticism welcome.
1. The Unusual Chapter One, Stranger

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: I am not really too sure how long I am going to carry on this series and I also don't know where exactly I am going with it either. I do hope to carry it on for a while. Reviews and criticism are welcome. This is my first story in a long while.))

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**"****Itsuninai-hen Sono Ichi - Yosomono****" (奇怪し編 其ノ壱 他)**

"The Unusual Chapter One - Stranger"

* * *

A tall, brown haired business man nervously tugged at the collar of his suit, wiping some sweat off of his brow. He paced around the hotel room he was having to stay in. He sighed, looking down at his son sitting beside the bed. The boy didn't look back at him.

"Son, I know this is hard for us... But we have to get through this. It hasn't been easy for me either, you know that as well as anybody. We have to--." The man was interrupted by his son.

"I don't care what you have to say. I understand. I just... I wish things didn't have to be this way." The boy hid his face in his palms as his elbows rested upon his lap.

The father sighed, looking out the hotel window, "I know, son... I know..."

* * *

The sun rose above Hinamizawa as a little blue car slowly entered the village. The car went down the straight, small, dirt road for a while, before making a turn and stopping at a house. A man stepped out of the car, making his way around the car and to the front door of the house beside him. He straightened out his tie, and dusted off his suit, which seemed to be his preferred attire where ever he went. His son slowly made his way up the path behind his father to the door, hands in his pockets. The boy had mid-back length, dark purple hair, cream colored, emotionless eyes, and dark baggy clothes. Standing beside his father at the front door, the two hardly looked anything alike, other than in the face, of which was very effeminate, but still carried a more manly feel to it than most females.

The father reached forward to knock on the house door. After knocking four times in concession, the door finally opened revealing an elderly, yet, important looking man. The man cleared his throat, looking at the two guests at his door step, and finally, stepped to the side, motioning for the two to come inside. The two obliged, and the father nodded as he made his way inside. They were lead to a table with four Japanese-style mats placed around it, two on one side, and two on the opposite side. The elderly man took his seat, and the man and his son took the seats opposite him.

Finally the old man talked, "So, you are--."

"Krez Musuashi, sir." The father interrupted.

"Ah, Krez Musuashi. Right, right. So, you are looking for a place to live here, am I right?" The old man addressed, of which the father nodded. "Hmm... I see. I haven't properly introduced myself yet. I am Kiichirō Kimiyoshi, chief of the village, as you may already know." He held his hand out to Mr. Musuashi, who took it, shaking it graciously.

"Nice to meet you." Mr. Musuashi smiled, letting go of Kimiyoshi's hand.

"I will see what I can do about a home for you." Kimiyoshi stood up, heading into another room. He walked down a hall, leaving his guests to sit at the table as they were. After several minutes he returned, nodding. "Found you something."

* * *

A girl with short, orange-red hair stood next to a post and small one yard length bridge, hands behind her back grasping her bag, and rocking on her heels. After several minutes, a boy with short brown hair ran up, greeting her with a smile and waving. The two talked for several minutes as a girl came running along with green hair that was tightly tied up in a ponytail. She smiled big, and they all began to walk along the path away from where the boy and girl had previously come from. Rena Ryuugu, the girl who had been waiting the longest, always seemed to have a smile on her face, and walked right between Keiichi Maebara, the boy who she seemed to have some form of interest in, and Mion Sonozaki, who had been the last to arrive at the meeting spot.

A few minutes later they came across the small, blue haired girl, Rika Furude, and the small, blond haired girl, Satoko Hojo. The two groups greeted each other with waves and smiles, and merged into one as they entered through the front gates of the school, and one by one entered into the door. They entered into their classroom, taking their respective seats. A few moments later, Rumiko Chie entered the room, holding the door open for a purple haired boy, whom none of the group of friends seemed to know.

"We have a new student, everyone. I am pleased to introduce Xezion Musuashi, and he shall be in this class from this point onwards. He just moved here yesterday morning, and we are glad we were able to get him started in class by today." Chie spoke with a smile on her face, as she held out a hand towards Xezion, signaling that the person she spoke of happened to be the person beside her.

Xezion nodded towards the class, and Chie pointed out a chair in the back of the class near Rika Furude. He slowly took his seat, and placed his hands in his lap, staring blankly at his desk top, not speaking a word. Finally, he felt a jab in his side, and looked up to see the cute face of Rika staring at him, her hand returning from poking him. She smiled softly, but soon her face became distorted into more of a grimace.

"You shouldn't be here. Do you know that?" Rika spoke in a unusually deep and mature voice for her age.

Xezion was taken aback and glared at her, "That's rude... Just because you don't like me, you shouldn't say such things." He spoke, matching her deep voice with an equally deep voice of his own.

Rika narrowed her eyes, speaking again in that odd deep voice, "I don't mean to be rude. I mean that this never happened before."

Xezion arched an eyebrow, but speaking in a more casual voice, "I don't understand."

"Are you going to be the one?" After a few moments, Rika's eyes returned to the front of the classroom.

Xezion stared at her for a few more moments before she finally noticed and looked back at him. She smiled brilliantly, holding up her hand in a wave type jester, "Nipaa! My name is Rika Furude. I am pleased to meet you."

He arched an eyebrow, running his fingers through his hair in surprise to hearing her voice sound more like an eight year olds' should. He slowly waved back at the little girl, slightly smiling. "H-hi, I'm Xezion. Pleased to meet you to." _'Did I imagine all that?'_ He thought to himself as he scratched his chin and returned his gaze to the front of the class, placing them upon Chie-sensei.

Class ended and Xezion grabbed up his bag and proceeded to follow the other students out of the classroom, but felt a slight tug on his pants leg. He stopped, turning around to see the smiling Rika holding tightly onto his pants leg. "You should stay to play with us, desu." She pointed to the group of students who had pushed a bunch of desks together and were gathered around, staring at him.

"Uuh... Uuhm.." He shifted his eyes from one person to the other. They each introduced each other to him and made him push a desk up to join them. He took his seat and stared at his desk.

Mion slammed her hands on the desk, startling Xezion, "Ooh, do you want to join this club or not?!"

"What does it do anyways?!" Xezion yelled, clearly still surprised from Mion's sneak attack on his peace and quiet.

Mion smiled in a somewhat wicked manner, holding up a thumbs up, "We play games. The loser or losers have to do everything the winner says. As in a punishment game."

Xezion was taken aback, "Punishment? Like what?!" His mouth gapped open.

"Oh, nothing bad, really. Just having to dress up in a manner you do not find normal." Rena jumped in, "Hau, you would make such a cute maid! I may just have to take you home!"

She tried lunging over the table at Xezion, who leaped up and landed on a desk behind him. Rena, whom, of which had just lunged forward without much thought, landed on top of the clubs desks, face first. She slowly got up, rubbing her nose. "No fair..." She frowned, taking her seat again. Xezion slowly sat back down again.

Mion cleared her throat, "Well, first, he has to become part of the group, Rena. You must complete our trials first."

Xezion ran his fingers through his hair, "Trials? Like what exactly?"

Mion smiled, "You really do ask a lot of questions. Oh, you are going to enjoy this. Keiichi, you remember when you joined, correct?"

* * *

**((Note: Alright, that took a while to write, so I hope it isn't too long. I should get Part two up soon. Like, hopefully within this next week, and I will try to get it up as soon as possible. I hope you enjoyed the story so far. I probably am not the best writer, but I will get the hang of this.))**


	2. The Unusual Chapter Two, Strangeness

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: Alright, I decided to start working on the second part early... I get ideas, and I want to get them into writing as soon as possible when I do. I just hope it is a good idea . ….R&R please ^.^))

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**"****Itsuninai-hen Sono Ni - Kawari" ****(奇怪し編 其ノ弐 比)**

"The Unusual Chapter Two - Strangeness" 

* * *

Keiichi smiled as Mion stood up and headed to the lockers they kept their games and other such supplies in. "Which game...." Mion spoke quietly as she rummaged around the items.

Rena loomed behind Mion for a few seconds before tapping her on her shoulder, "How about a different game than we usually play as the trial?"

Mion turned around with a finger on her lip and a wicked smile slowly spread across her lips, "I know of the perfect game then. Tomorrow, at recess, we shall play it. Everyone... our meeting has been concluded. Rest up, you are going to need it."

Satoko groaned, and Keiichi did an arm pump while declaring, "Yes." Rika closed her eyes while smiling brightly. Xezion grabbed up his bag and headed out the door before everyone else had gotten their things together. He exited the building and left through the gate, taking the path that he believed to be to his home. A few seconds passed and he heard foot steps behind him getting closer. He looked up from the path and slowly turned around to see Keiichi running up behind him.

"Hey man, what's up? You sure seemed in a hurry to get out of there.. Something up?" Keiichi arched an eyebrow, and had his hands on Xezion's shoulders as if preparing to shake him if he didn't like the answer he was given.

Xezion slowly shook his head, causing Keiichi to shake him as he had suspected. "I just wish to get home." Xezion spoke quietly. Keiichi stopped shaking him and withdrew his hands from his shoulders.

"Your voice says one thing, but your attitude says another." Keiichi was interrogating him, which was getting to be annoying. Xezion spun on his heel and began to quicken his pace away from the pest. "H-hey!" Keiichi charged after him. Xezion broke into a sprint and took off down a street, Keiichi falling slightly behind. Xezion turned a corner, and as Keiichi turned it after him, he stopped dead in his tracks. "What the--?" Keiichi scratched his head. He had lost Xezion.

* * *

Xezion slowly walked up the path to his new home, opening the door and entering it. No sooner than he had closed the door did he hear a knock on it. _'That pest found me after all...'_ Xezion opened the door and peered around, seeing nothing.

"Nipaa! Hello Xezi-kun. I asked Chie-sensei where you lived so I could visit you if the need arose." The familiar voice of Rika rang out. Xezion looked down to see Rika's familiar smiling face.

"You said, 'So I could visit you if the need arose.' but I see no reason for that now." Xezion put his hands on his hips as he looked down at the small girl standing just outside his door.

Rika's eyes narrowed, her pupils seemingly disappearing. She slowly pushed the door, which Xezion had just barely open enough to see anybody outside, and forced her way inside. Xezion took a step back as Rika entered into the threshold of his home. She pushed the door shut behind her, and turned around, turning the the lock, and drawing the chain so that the door was locked securely. She slowly turned around, and slowly made her way towards Xezion.

"Rika-chan, what is this all about? Why'd you lock my door?" Xezion gritted his teeth, as Rika flung her head up to look him directly in the eyes, her own eyes wide open, and her pupils clearly missing.

"You. I told you once before." Rika spoke in the deep voice that Xezion remembered from earlier in the day. "Why are you here? You clearly aren't even supposed to be here."

Xezion narrowed his eyes at the girl, "Again with this, huh? Why must you be so rude?"

The girl shook her head, "You haven't appeared in any of the worlds before this."

"Worlds? What do you mean?" Xezion arched an eyebrow.

"Tell me... can you change destiny?" Rika questioned him, a look of curiosity was clearly visible, even on that very serious face of hers.

Xezion looked away from the girl. _'This again...'_ He turned away from the girl. "I don't know what you are talking about..."

Rika walked forwards and around to his front. "I know you have a secret.. I shall find it..." With that, the girl moved back towards the door, unlocking the lock, and removing the sliding chain, and stepping back outside. Xezion turned to watch as she stepped outside. She turned around to face him, her eyes closed, and a smile as big as usual across her face. "Glad I know this is your place, desu. Byye!"

Xezion watched as Rika closed the door. It cracked open only slightly to reveal only half of the girl, as she spoke in that dreadfully deep voice again, "You will tell me soon." The door closed completely with a slam, and Xezion hurriedly locked it and ran up the stairs to his room. He laid down on the sleeping mat he had placed there the previous night, and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

There was a knock on Xezion's door, and he woke with a start. "Xezion, I brought home some food. Come eat." Xezion slowly got up and went outside the door and down the stairs behind his father. He grabbed his food off the counter and slowly began to eat. His father, swallowing a bite of food he had in his own mouth, finally broke the silence. "So, how was your day at school? First day, new people... Was always exciting for me.." Xezion shrugged slightly, as his mouth was too full to answer with words. "I see, well. Things will get better. Just remember our reasons for coming here.."

Xezion looked up at his father, slurping a noodle that was hanging out of his mouth in, and swallowing. "Right... I shall father... I am going to go to bed now..." Xezion threw the rest of his box of food, which wasn't very much, onto the table and dashed upstairs. His father shook his head as he grabbed up the box and moved it to the sink.

Xezion closed his door behind him and finally collapsed onto the mat and drifted to sleep again.

* * *

Rika and Satoko settled into their sleeping mats. Satoko stretched before looking over to Rika in her sleeping mat. "Rika... where did you disappear to earlier?"

Rika rolled over to face Satoko, "I went to find Xez-kun's house! We should go meet him in the morning. He may have forgotten how to get to school."

Satoko nodded, and rolled over to stare at the ceiling. "Sounds like a plan, Rika-chan." She closed her eyes, whispering quietly to herself, "Maybe he will be a better oni-chan than Keiichi.." Rika couldn't help but hear it, bringing a look of surprise to her face, but she ignored it, rolling over to go to sleep.

* * *

Xezion awoke with a flash, his eyes flinging open. He had felt a presence in his room, though he didn't know what it was. He sat up quickly, peering around his room. He laughed slightly, noticing that the presence was only Rika and Satoko.

"How... how did you get into my room?" Xezion sculpted an eyebrow at the girls.

Satoko held her hands together at her chest, "Your dad let us in and showed us to your room."

Xezion stood up and straightened out his sleeping mat _'Great... That little girl knows where I sleep as well as being trusted by my father...'_ He turned to face the girls, and smiled brightly. "So, we head to school together then?" The girls nodded as they turned and headed out of his room and down the stairs. He left his room, grabbing his bag, which was right outside his room door, and headed down the stairs. The girls turned, heading out the front door, Xezion only slightly behind them. The headed down the path to where the school was, finally meeting up with Keiichi, Rena and Mion at the front gates. Keiichi frowned slightly before heading into the building, shortly followed be the rest of the gang.

Hours passed and Chie-sensei left the room declaring it lunch break. Xezion looked through his bag, grabbing his bento box only to open it and realizing he didn't get his lunch for the day before he left. "Dammit.." He muttered to himself. Rika tugged on his shirt sleeve beside him, holding her bento box in her hand.

"I noticed you forgot your food today, Xezi-kun. Do you want to share with me?" Rika smiled and tilted her head slightly to the left side.

Rena stood up making her chair clatter to the floor, "Hau, hau! Rika-chan is so cute! Offering to share her food with the newest student! And she gave him such a cute nickname too! Xezi-kun! Xezi-kun!" Rena continued to loom around Rika as she took her seat beside Xezion, who signed slightly.

"Thank you... Rika-chan." He nodded at the girl, who smiled back. Rika opened the box revealing a nice pile of yellow rice mixed with egg and some sausage and chicken. "Wow, Rika, that looks delicious." Xezion had to admit as he drooled. "Did your mother make that just for you." Rika didn't answer him, but instead looked away and down. He tilted his head in confusion, looking at the girl, before finally noticing everyone else looking at him.

"Xezion... Rika-chan lives by herself along with Satoko-chan at the Furude Shrine. Neither of their parent are alive..." Mion stared at Xezion with a stare that seemed to pierce his very soul.

Xezion looked down, "Sorry, I didn't know."

Rika poked him in the side, causing him to look up at her again, "It's okay, Xezi-kun. Nipaa!" The rest of the lunch break went along without incident. Chie returned to the class thirty minutes later, and class began again. Another few hours passed by and Chie declared it recess. Mion grabbed Xezion by the collar of his shirt and ran full speed outside, the others following quickly behind.

"Alright guys, it is time for Xezi-chan to take his trial!" Mion yelled, flinging an arm up. Everyone cheered as Mion began to explain herself. "We are going to play Zombie Tag! Xezion is the 'It Zombie' this time. Everyone knows how this works again, right? Depending upon how well he does, he may join the club. Alright, everyone, run. Xezion count to fifty."

Mion took off at full speed in the opposite direction of Xezion, Keiichi off to the far right, Rena and Satoko to the far left, and Rika took off somewhere behind him. "But I don't know what I am doing... It's just like normal tag, I guess... right?"

"Yup!" Rika yelled from behind him.

Xezion sighed, lowering his head and counting slowly to fifty while thinking to himself, _'I don't remember ever saying I wanted to join this club, but if it gets it done, then fine.'_ Xezion finished counting to fifty and lifted his head up, charging in the direction he believed Mion to have gone. He broke into a mad sprint, charging around a shed type building, catching Mion by surprise. She leaped up from behind a trash can and took off. Xezion chuckled, running quickly after her. "You aren't getting away that easily!" He yelled after her. She darted behind the school building, Xezion coming around the corner to see that she had lost him. "Dammit."

He looked around, noticing a corner where the building made a right angle into the building's perimeter. Inside the opening stood Rika. "Uh oh!" Her eyes got wide, as a wicked smile spread across Xezion's face as he leapt at the girl to tag her. He poked her with his index finger on the forehead. "Hehe, you got me, Xezi-kun. That means I join you as a zombie it as well."

Xezion's eyes opened wide, "So, that is what Zombie Tag is. So in a sense, I infected you with the 'it' status." Rika nodded and took off around the corner. Xezion smiled, running around the opposite direction of Rika. Tagging her just made his job easier. He ran around the corner and looked around seeing Keiichi jump, and try and hide in a bush. Xezion ran up to the bush, reaching in and tagging Keiichi.

"Dammit!" Keiichi's head popped out of the bush and he shrugged, running off in some direction. Xezion peered around again, seeing a flash of green hair again. It was Mion again, of course. He ran in the direction he was sure 'the flash' was heading, cutting Mion off on the other side of the shed.

"So, you finally have me where you want me, eh?" Mion smiled widely. Xezion noticed Satoko acting zombie like coming up behind Mion.

"Nowhere for you to run, eh, Mion?" Xezion smiled.

"I can still turn and run away from you; I know I am faster." Mion turned to run away, but felt a poke in her stomach by Satoko.

"Hahaha! I got you." Satoko held a hand to her mouth, laughing.

Mion looked confused. "He got you already?"

"Actually, Rika-chan did."

Mion looked back at Xezion. "Well, you got me then. Who's left?"

"Rena-chan, as it would seem. I haven't even seen her." Xezion arched an eyebrow. Mion nodded and ran around the corner. Xezion circled around, joining up with her on the opposite side

Keiichi was running around the corner of the school building with Rika only a short distance behind him. Xezion smiled and ran around the opposite side of the school building, Satoko and Mion following him. He smiled as he rounded the corner, seeing that they had cut off Rena, who was trapped between Keiichi's gang, and his own group. "Give up, Rena-chan." Xezion declared. He moved closer just as he heard the school bell ring. He heard Mion stomp her foot.

"Dammit, you didn't get her in time. So that means that Rena-chan wins, and you lose Xezion." Mion put her hands on her hips.

"But, weren't you on my side, along with Keiichi, Satoko-chan, and Rika-chan?" He was really confused at this time.

Mion smiled wickedly, "We were testing you, not us. You would have won, had you gotten all of us, and those of us who you tagged were technically no longer in the game along with people they tagged in addition, making it so that if you won, people out of the game would be the losers, and anyone who you didn't tag would be the winner and you the loser."

Xezion still didn't understand. Though Mion started up again, "In any case, you lose, Rena-chan wins, and she gets to do with you as she pleases." Xezion's eyes widened.

"B-but, wait. I am not in your club." Xezion added quickly, backing away from the group.

"Oh, contrare, I said 'Depending on your performance, you would be in the club' and I say your performance was great. You are in the club."

Rena squealed, running up and grabbing a hold of Xezion, hugging him tightly. "Yay, I get to do with you as I please. As I please!"

* * *

The kids all went back inside the school building, finishing up this day of schooling. The group gathered up their desks in the back of the class and took their seats. Rena was holding onto Xezion's arm to make sure he couldn't get away from her. She dug in her bag, pulling out a box that had a marker pen in it. She smiled, while she grabbed a rope and tied him to the seat. He struggled, but Mion helped keep him still so that he could be 'punished' by Rena.

"You have to take it like a man, Xezion!" Keiichi jeered.

Rena drew around the outline of Xezion's eyes, making it appear as if he had eyeliner on. She then pulled out a purplish compound and began putting it underneath his eyes, and doing designs with it. She then took the marker pen and drew him whiskers. Rena whispered into Mion's ear something that Xezion didn't quite hear, and Mion laughed wickedly. The green haired girl ran out of the room, and into another, finally returning with a Black maid costume that looked just about Xezion's size. His eyes widened as she undid the ropes on the chair and pushed him out the door and into the bathroom with the costume. "Put that on, Xezi-_chan_."

Xezion sighed, putting on the costume, and heading back into the other room. He heard the girls in the room snicker and Keiichi burst into laughing so hard that tears ran down his face. Xezion sighed as he walked to his bag. "Hey, I am not done with you!" Rena puffed up, waggling around impatiently. He sat down in the chair and she painted on his fingernails, and put his hair up purposely uneven pig tails on the sides of his head that were tied up using frilly black and white ribbons. She grabbed the rope and tied it around his wrists behind his back and held onto the rope tightly. "Oh! I just want to take you home so badly! Hau!" She did a little dance.

The others laughed as everyone left the school building. Rika grabbed his bag so that he wouldn't forget, considering that he had no free hands. They all walked down the path to the post that Keiichi, Rena, and Mion usually met at. "You know, Rena, he is going to have to go home...."

Rena frowned, puffing out her bottom lip. "But.. I wanna keep hiim!"

Mion laughed, "Well... Like I have any authority over you other than being the leader of the club. Take him, fine."

Xezion's mouth was gaped wide open. "B-but, I--!" Rena tugged him and forced him to follow him home with her. _'Well, explains why she tied me up again, I guess. She never intended to let me leave...'_ Keiichi was still laughing as he broke away from them and headed home.

Mion later broke off and headed home, but not before adding in a sly comment. "You two enjoy yourself, you hear me?"

Xezion tilted his head in confusion, arching an eyebrow. "What?!" Xezion got tugged to follow again, so he did as he was told. _'Didn't know that the rules specified this far...'

* * *

_

They arrived at Rena's house, and she pushed open the door. She tugged, and made him go up the stairs before her. She forced him into her room and she danced again. "Hau! I finally got to take someone cute home. Finally got to!" She smiled and closed her room door and he took a seat on the ground. She walked over to the closet door and opened it up, and grabbed his rope, tugging him into the closet. She tied the rope end to a pole that was hanging horizontally one foot from the ceiling.

"And just what are you planning?" Xezion asked suspiciously. He was feeling rather awkward by this point.

A wicked smile spread across Rena's face, as the pupils in her eyes seemingly disappeared just as Rika's had done the previous day. She began to cackle maniacally and slammed the closet door shut. "You shall see what I have planned for you." Xezion heard the door to Rena's room fling open and then slam shut as her footsteps were heard going down the stairs.

_'I don't think I like this... she is doing like Rika-chan...' _Xezion tried to wiggle himself free of the rope, but to no avail.

* * *

**((Note: Well, I shall have another one up as soon as possible. I had to get this over with before I forgot. I hope this works as well as I had planned. Hope you enjoyed!))**


	3. The Unusual Chapter Three, Unnecessary

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: I feel rather confident in how the story feels thus far, so I am probably going to get chapters up rather quickly. If anything confuses you about the story, let me know and I will explain it. Of course, if it is supposed to be confusing at a point, then you won't get it explained until it is supposed to be.))**

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**"Itsuninai-hen Sono San - F****uhitsuyou**** " (****奇怪し編 其ノ****参**** 要****)**

"The Unusual Chapter Three – Unnecessary"

* * *

Xezion struggled to get free from the rope tying him securely, feeling his eminent demise coming upon him. It had been several minutes since Rena had left, but he didn't like the fact that he was nicely imprisoned in, what appeared to be, a crazy girls' house. He heard Rena's foot steps on the stairs, and shortly after, the door to the room was heard creak open slowly. He heard foot steps shuffle to the door and something clack on the ground. The door slowly slid open and he saw Rena standing there with a smile, her eyes closed with a gentle look on her face. He looked to her hand, expecting some type or torture tool, only to see that she was holding a box of some kinda of food substance.

"Xezi-_chan_! I brought up some food. You looked so cute, I just wanted to hand feed you! Hau!" She pulled chopsticks out of seemingly nowhere, grabbing a piece of chicken and shoving it in his face. He eyed it for a second, and slowly bit down on it.

Xezion looked wide eyed at the girl. The food was delicious, even more so than what he had eaten with Rika earlier that day. "Wow, that sure is good. Did you go down stairs to make food to do just this with?" He watched as the girl smiled and picked up some more food with her chopsticks to feed him. He felt as if all troubles were gone from the world. After the girl finished feeding him her meal, she reached up and undid the rope securing him to the pole.

Rena move to behind him and undid the rope on his hands. She grabbed a collar from a drawer and put it around his neck, tying the rope to it. _'I thought I was free..'_ Xezion signed as the girl dragged him down stairs. He followed without much objection. She led him to the kitchen, where her father was cleaning on some dishes.

"Hey Rena? Who's your friend?" Her father arched an eye, looking at Xezion.

Rena smiled, pushing him forwards a little, "This is Xezi-chan! Xezi-chan lost the game we had at school today, and I was the winner."

The father nodded, "So you got to punish her then?"

Xezion arched an eyebrow, _'Her? He thinks I am a girl... Only fitting considering the dress and the girly make up. Curse my effeminate looking face.'_ Xezion faked a smile as Rena headed back up the stairs, Xezion behind her. They hung out in her room for a while. She was playing a question game cause she had nothing better to do with her 'cute little prize'.

"Where did you live before?"  
"Uhhmm..--"

"Why did you come to Hinamizawa?"

"Because of--"

"Where's your house?"

"Near the Furude Shri--"

"Who do you live with!?"

"With my father, and nobody else cause--"

"I am having fun, how about you, Xezi-chan?"

Xezion was silent for a moment, he bowed his head. He was being bombarded by questions and was starting to get bothered. He sighed deeply as he felt Rena hug him. "Aaw, are you tired? You can go to sleep soon, I promise. I promise." Rena moved away from him, smiling. _'Well, at least she isn't crazy anymore... did I imagine that?' _He thought as he looked her in the eyes. She frowned, "What is it?"

He shook his head, "Nothing... I just..." He looked away.

"Can't you tell me...?" She tilted her head.

He lowered his head slightly, "Rika told me I wasn't supposed to be here...."

Rena was silent for a moment. He looked up at the girl, who had her head lowered. "Did she now?" Rena sounded cold.

Xezion narrowed his eyes at the girl before she spoke again, looking into his face, "I am sure she didn't mean it." She smiled softly. She looked up at the clock. They had been playing around for nearly two hours now and it was just getting to be ten o'clock.

Xezion jumped up. "I gotta get home!" Rena grabbed his arm and pulled him down.

"I had my father call and say you were staying at my place. Your father said he didn't mind you staying considering that he was having to go to Okinomiya to work for a few days straight. I didn't know he worked there! What does he do?" She tilted her head as she asked the last question.

"He is a business man... This happens a lot and I don't see him for days and even weeks at a time. I am used to it." He faked a half smile, looking down slightly. Rena patted him on the head.

She smiled brightly, "It's kay. You can stay here. Stay here!" She tackled him to the ground, hugging him and mumbling something about 'how cute he was' and how 'she was happy to have something so cute there with her'. He felt as if he was going to have his ribs were going to be crushed.

* * *

Rena placed a sleep mat for him on the ground and told him that he was to sleep there. He nodded and climbed in. Rena had earlier removed his collar, so it felt more comfortable for him to sleep. The light flicked off and he felt something crawling against his back. He jumped and turned around to see Rena's face in front of his. "What the--?!"

Rena smiled, "I only have on sleep mat, silly. I don't usually have people stay here." She puffed her cheeks. "So I am sharing with you." She smiled.

Xezion sighed, rolling over, chuckling a bit, "Kay, but no funny business. I don't like pranks while I sleep. Last one to do that didn't sleep the same way when I was around again." He heard Rena chuckle and scoot closer to him, drawing her arms around him in a 'from behind' hug. He closed his eyes to fall asleep, slowly beginning to drift to sleep.

"Xezi-chan... Didn't you say you lived in Okinomiya before you lived here?" He heard Rena ask him from behind.

He shook his head lightly, "I didn't say that, exactly. I didn't really get to answer... But I did. Things came up and I had to move here. Dad said this place would be a nice change of pace and that since we were moving here in the summer, I could make some friends to go hang out with during this festival he referred to as being silly. I think he called it the Watanagashi Festival." Xezion shrugged under the covers.

"It's not silly... We drift cotton down the river to cast away our impurities..." She fumed.

Xezion laughed, "I know it isn't silly. Can you tell me more about what goes on during it, and more importantly, when it occurs?"

Rena laughed cutely, "Of course. There is all kinds of stalls to do little games. There are also food stands, and some have prizes! It is in about a weeks... Like, six days to be more precise...." He heard her say gleefully, though he heard her whispering something to him as he strained his ears to hear her, "I do wonder who Oyashiro-sama is going to take this year." Xezion heard her words and rolled around to face her, her arms still securely around him.

"What do you mean?" Xezion arched a sculpted eyebrow.

She gasped looking away, "N-nothing."

He laughed, "Oh? You had me tied up in your closet, but not before dragging me here with the same rope, only after dressing me up to look completely like a girl. I seem to be rather trusting to you. So, could you please tell me? What do you mean by what you whispered." He smirked slightly, hoping this had convinced her.

She slowly looked into his eyes, "Oookay... I believe you. If you can trust me, I am sure I can trust you." She smiled and then became really serious. "Every year, at the Watanagashi Festival, someone dies and another disappears in compensation for the death."

Xezion took a gulp, "That's a bit unnerving... But, okay. Could you tell me more? When did this begin?"

She nodded, "It started four years ago. During the dam construction project. They were kicking people out of there homes to give them places to live in Okinomiya--"

"I heard about that. They had some new houses in Okinomiya and they talked about moving people from a small village to make a dam. Heard it was going to go underwater.. I didn't think it was this village. So, it is true then? The dam instructor was really dismembered?" Xezion interrupted her, finishing her story.

She nodded, "Yes. There were five culprits, each took a piece of his body to hide. They only caught four of the suspects and found four of the pieces. The fifth suspect and piece were never found. They say the fifth suspect was 'demoned away'." The girl looked away. "This was when it wall began, and it was on the day of the Watanagashi Festival. Each year after that it has happened. The next year on the day of the festival, Satoko's mother and father fell off a bridge into a river, the mother's body was never found. A year after that, again on the festival, Rika's father, the Shinto priest, died in the shrine, while his wife jumped into the swarm, committing suicide. The body of the wife was never found. And last year's festival, Satoko's Aunt, whom Satoko and her brother Satoshi had to live with, along with her uncle. Her aunt was beat to death by a blunt object. Shortly after the culprit was said to have been caught, Satoshi disappeared. Her uncle left for Okinomiya, and the culprit that supposively killed Satoko's aunt died in confinement.... Her aunt and uncle were very abusive to her.... yet we couldn't prove it..." She fell silent for a moment.

Xezion rolled back over, pulling Rena's arms closer around him, "I understand now... So Rika and Satoko live alone together... Hm..." He closed his eyes beginning to fall asleep, "Well.. I am glad you told me about all this..." Though he didn't feel too confident in his new living arrangements. After a while he fell asleep.

* * *

He felt Rena shaking him as the light shinied into his eyes from outside. He stretched, getting up from the covers, looking at Rena with a rather expressionless look on his face.

"Hehe, you look silly. Silly." She hugged him tightly. That woke him up and he gasped for air.

"Rena... you are... choking... me..." He spoke through gasps of breath. She let go of him and went to her clothing drawers, grabbing a uniform that looked like the one she wore each day to school. She threw it on his lap and then rummaged through her drawers grabbing a white dress and white hat. She left the room and went into another room to get dressed. He looked at the skirt and blouse and sighed. "Guess I am still being punished? Or maybe she has just decided I am to be a girl from this point onwards...." He slowly got dressed into the small girls clothes, surprised that they actually fit him. After closer inspection, he realized he was about the same size as Rena.

He slipped on some shoes and walked outside the room, bumping into Rena. "Oh, Xezi-chan. You look so cute in my clothes!" She squealed, fixing his pig tails and the makeup on his face. She then motioned for him to follow her outside. He breathed the fresh air and he followed her to the post that they were to meet Mion and Keiichi. They waited for a while before Keiichi finally walked up.

The brown haired boy laughed excitedly, "Still a girl it would seem, eh Xezion?" Keiichi taunted him.

Xezion cursed under his breath as Keiichi kept making comments about his newly discovered effeminacy. After a couple more minutes, Mion ran up and began to laugh when she saw Xezion. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were another new girl student that was going to be going to our school!" She slapped her hand on his shoulder, shaking him.

The group proceeded to the school, running into Rika and Satoko along the way, who both laughed at him just like the others. _'This is embarrassing. I am going to get you back Rena...'_ He though as they entered the school building. The all entered the class room and took there seats. Chie-sensei entered and looked at him confused.

"Who are you?" She tilted her head, looking at the 'new girl' in the class.

"It's me, Chie-sensei... Xezion... I lost and Rena punished me like this..." He looked down sadly.

The teacher laughed quietly, "Oh, I see. Well, it happens sometimes."

* * *

**((Note: Okay, it took me for ever to get at what I was, well, getting at, but I did it. Xezion has been introduced to the Watanagashi festival successfully. It took Unnecessarily long to get to my whole reason in doing this chapter, hint at the title. And now that that is done, things can start getting interesting. You know what is going to happen neeext! I should be updating soon. Hope you enjoyed Rena's little punishment, hehe.)) **


	4. The Unusual Chapter Four, Uncertainty

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: Was racking my brain coming up with a name for this one... Still wasn't quite sure. But, I think this should work fine if what I have planned for this chapter actually works. I hope I do it right and I hope you enjoy this chapter.))

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**"Itsuninai-hen Sono Yon - F****useikaku ****" (****奇怪し編 其ノ****四 **** 確****)**

"The Unusual Chapter Four – Uncertainty"

* * *

Xezion and the others enjoyed school until about lunch. Everyone began getting out their food and pulling desks together to eat in groups. Xezion sat by Rena who had his food. Rika and Satoko ate together while Keiichi and Mion ate together. Xezion, of course, had been still dressed as a girl the entire day, considering that he didn't have a clean change of clothes. He picked up his chopsticks and began to shovel down the food that Rena had set in front of him.

Xezion smiled brightly, "Oooh, Rena-chan! This is just as good as what you gave me last night. Did you make this yourself as well?" She nodded at him and he smiled, returning to his food.

Mion caught sight of him, leaning over towards him, "Hehe, you and Rena-chan seem to be enjoying yourselves. Did anything special happen last night? I know you had to stay there."

Xezion looked at her, his mouth cracked open slightly, "We uhm... She had me tied up in her closet for a while.. Then she hand fed me while I was tied up and asked me a bunch of questions. Then when it came time for sleep, I asked her about the Watanagashi Festival that my father had told me about. It sounds like loads of fun!" He smiled at Mion, who cocked her head.

"Ooh, I see. Did she tell you what we do at the festival?" She questioned him suspiciously.

Keiichi grabbed Mion's shoulder, pulling her back, "Mion? Why haven't I heard about the Festival?"

She shrugged, "It never came up."

Keiichi arched an eyebrow at the girl, the girl turning back to Xezion, "So, what did Rena tell you about?"

Xezion quickly swallowed some food, "Well, she told me that we play all kinds of games and that some give prizes and such."

Mion laughed at Xezion, "Oh, but you forget, Rena. The punishment game counts for double." Mion put a hand behind her head, laughing a bit. "Yeah, each stall be use as a game. The one with the most stall games won, wins."

Xezion scratched his chin. He laughed, returning to his food, thinking to himself, _'Why didn't she mention the deaths? Maybe she forgot.'_ He finished his food, giving Rena his box, thanking her for the food. He noticed that Keiichi had his head bowed, and hadn't touched his food. It seemed he felt as if his friends were keeping things from him. Xezion shrugged it off, thinking that Keiichi would get over it soon. Everyone finished their food and class started up again. After a few hours of doing random studies in groups, the teacher let out class and the club gathered at the back of class as usual.

"Okay everyone, listen up." Mion began, standing on her chair scanning over her friends. "In a few days, the Watanagashi festival begins. We all know what we are doing on that day right?"

Everyone nodded, and Rena stood up, "Rika is the Miko for the festival. We need to go watch it."

Mion nodded, "Of course. And the day before the festival we are going to be helping set up the stalls and things."

Keiichi hopped up from his chair, "That sounds like a great plan!"

Xezion arched an eyebrow, _'Back to normal already?'_

Mion ended the club meeting for the day and they all left the school for the day. Xezion told Rena he was going to go get a change of clothing and he would be at her house later that day. She nodded saying that she wanted to go to the junk piles that she loves going to. Xezion nodded saying he would probably go there to meet her instead. She nodded, grabbing Keiichi and running to the dump, hearing her yelling, "Keiichi, come on, you can help me move some of the big things. You and Xezion can help me get new things to my house." Keiichi didn't have much time to argue, and Xezion laughed, heading home.

* * *

He pulled out his key, unlocking the door and entering his house. Heading up the stairs and grabbing a change of clothes for the next day and putting them in a bag outside his room. He then grabs some clothes and changes into them, heading into the bathroom and washing his face off. He pulls out the pigtails and ties his hair up in a ponytail behind his head. He nodded, smiling, finally being able to be in normal clothes again. He headed out of the bathroom, grabbing up his bag and heading downstairs.

He opened the door, seeing a seething Mion standing in front of him. He arched an eyebrow as she stood there in front of him, "Hey Mion... uhm, what's wrong?"

She growled, "Oh, that Rena. I thought she liked you. But she grabbed that Keii-kun and dragged him with her to the junk pile, alone." Her eyes seemed to tear up and she hid her face, "I wish he would see how I feel about him.."

Xezion frowned slightly, pulling Mion's chin up, her eyes meeting with his own, "I am sure he does. It seemed to upset him when you didn't tell him about the festival... I just wonder though... Why didn't you tell him about the deaths that occur each year."

Her eyes darted to the left as she looked away from him. Xezion shook her gently, causing her to look back at him, "I... I didn't want him to freak out or think the village was any less than he did already... How did you know about them?"

Xezion smiled, "Rena told me that she trusted me because I trusted her. So she told me about it. I don't see the village any less."

Mion turned away from him, "Yeah, but you aren't Keii-kun.."

Xezion began to push her outside. "Look, I am sure he won't have a problem about it. Let's go to the junk pile." He saw her nod and the began to head in the direction of the dump, Mion leading the way.

After a long walk, they arrived at the junk pile. A man with a camera was walking from the direction of the dump. "Hello Mion." He nodded at the girl.

"Oh, hello, Tomitake-san." Mion laughed.

"Yes." He nodded. "Just saw your friends. I think I scared Keiichi when I took his picture." He laughed to himself. "Bye. Take care. I have things I must attend to." He walked away, waving at the two.

They turned the corner, seeing Keiichi rummaging around in the junk, and Rena a ways away trying to move some big items of junk around, a rather uneventful effort of course. Rena fell backwards, tripping over some trash. Xezion jumped down, running down after her, grabbing her hand and helping her up. "You alright?" He asked her, looking into her eyes. She smiled, nodding.

"Hey there Xezi-chan." She got up and and she pointed to a dresser. "I want that, it's so cute! Can you help me get it." She puffed her cheeks and he walked over to the dresser, looking around. He moved a few things around, grabbing the dresser and moving it out of the pile easily. Rena smiled, grabbing it from him, hugging it. "Ooh, thank you Xezi-chan!" She smiled brightly. He scratched his head, looking in Keiichi's direction.

Keiichi had been looking at a magazine and looked a little shocked. Mion grabbed him from behind, yanking him around to face her. They exchanged a few words and Mion ran away at a quick pace. Keiichi frowned, looking like something was bothering him. Keiichi made his way over to Xezion and Rena and they both waved at him.

"Hey Keiichi." Xezion and Rena said at the same time.

Keiichi looked away for a second then looked back at Rena. "Hey.. Do you know about an incident that took place here 4 years ago involving a dam?" Rena nodded slowly.

"Yeah, they tried to put the village underwater and kick people out of homes. Xezion lived in Okinomiya and knows all about it as well." She smiled at Keiichi, who looked away and at the ground.

Xezion could see Keiichi's lips moving, and could make out the words. "You two are both in on it too, it would seem." Xezion arched an eyebrow, looking at Rena, who hadn't seemed to hear it. Keiichi turned running away from them. Xezion reached out to grab him and stop him, but didn't get him in time. Xezion frowned, looking at Rena.

"Xezi-chan.. Do you know what is wrong with him?" Rena asked confused.

Xezion shrugged slightly, "I don't know exactly, but I think it has to do with the fact that neither of you told him about the fact that there was a festival or any deaths." Rena looked away quietly.

"I wonder if that is really what is wrong." She spoke quietly.

* * *

They returned to Rena's house where they ate supper and prepared for bed. It was late when they returned to her house. Xezion got in the covers, and Rena got under them with him, hugging him from behind like the day before. Xezion slowly fell back to sleep.

Rena couldn't sleep, thinking about how Keiichi was acting. She shrugged it off, closing her eyes and finally drifting to sleep.

* * *

They woke up in the morning, Xezion changing into his new clothes in the bathroom and stepping down the stairs. Rena met him and they went outside, heading to school. They met Keiichi who was acting a bit strange, and Mion who only sighed. They made their way to school together. The next couple of days at school seemed to be just like usual, only difference being that Keiichi was acting strange each day.

* * *

Xezion had finally started staying at home, considering that his father was back and he would be able to get his own food and so on from now on. It was now the day before the festival, and Xezion was getting excited. He left his house, meeting up with Rena, Keiichi, and Mion at the post. Keiichi was still down about being left out of so many things by his friends. They arrived at the school, meeting up with Rika and Satoko and heading inside, as usual. They took their seats in their class, waiting for Chie-sensei.

* * *

**((Note: Alright. So, Keiichi is starting to get suspicious of his friends. Sooo, things should start getting interesting next chapter.))**


	5. The Unusual Chapter Five, Fear

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: It's been about 3 months since I updated last. Sorry it's been so long... Anyways, things should start heating up this chapter. Unfortunately, I have to get all my old resources for the name translation and kanji back, but, that isn't too big a problem, but I apologize if my translations are slightly off. Anyways, thanks for the reviews. ^.^))**

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* * *

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**"Itsuninai-hen Sono Go - Osore " (****奇怪し編 其ノ** **五 恐怖)**

"The Unusual Chapter Five – Fear"

* * *

The day had gone by fairly normal, everyone doing their usual and eating together, though Keiichi still seemed distant. After school, Xezion began to head home. He had decided to leave earlier so that he could get enough rest for the day of the festival. He entered his house, heading up the stairs to his room. He plopped down on his bed, a sigh of relief as he felt how relaxing it was.

"Keiichi..." He spoke softly into his bed, "What's wrong with you?"

He rolled over, looking at his rooms ceiling. He heard a knock down stairs. He sighed, jumping up quickly and darting down his stairs. He opened the door and saw Rena standing there.

"Xezi-chan, you forgot some of your stuff. You should come over and get it." She smiled at him. Why hadn't she brought it with her? He shrugged it off walking outside.

"Oh, I see. What was it? I was sure I grabbed everything." He pondered for a moment as they headed towards her place.

* * *

They arrived at her place after a short walk. Along the way they had talked about various things, such as how fun the last few days had been and how fun the next day would be. Xezion made sure not to bring Keiichi's name into the conversation. Considering how he had been acting, it would just make her sad. Rena unlocked the door and they entered. She waved at her father and ran upstairs. Xezion did the same, running up after her. He noticed a puzzled look from her father and couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Over here, over here!" Rena beamed, pointing at a pile of clothes. "I just washed them for you., that's why you forgot them." He smiled, moving to pick them up from the ground, noticing a glimmer from behind a book shelf.

"Hmm?" He arched an eyebrow, trying to get a better look. "Hey, Rena-chan, what's that shiny thing there?" He tried to reach for it but she grabbed his hand quickly.

"Don't worry about it. Just a treasure I found a while back." She smiled at him. It was obviously something special, but what could it be? He shrugged again, lifting his clothes.

He turned to the girl, bowing slightly, but not so much that he would drop his clothes. "Thank you, Rena-chan." He smiled. "It'd be great to do this again sometime." He quickly walked out of the door as he told her goodbye.

He went down the stairs passing her father on the way up. As he was stepping outside he heard her father open her door saying; "Rena? Was that a boy or a girl? I could have sworn he was the girl who was here for the last few days. Oh, forget it." Xezion laughed as he closed the front door behind him.

* * *

Xezion had gone home and had been lying on his bed. He still couldn't get the thoughts of how Keiichi had been acting out of his mind. Finally he drifted to sleep.

* * *

He woke up the next morning and quickly threw on some comfy clothes. His stomach growled loudly, as he had forgotten to eat supper the night before. He ran downstairs, waving at his dad. "I am going to the festival. Catch ya later!" His dad nodded, throwing him a little bag. "Hm? What's this?"

His dad smiled, "Its breakfast. You need to quit skipping meals. Not very healthy." Xezion laughed running outside. "That boy... Seems he likes it here after all... I just hope he doesn't forget why we are here... Then we can return to our old life..."

Xezion ran down the street, getting closer to Rena's house. He knocked on the door and a few seconds later she opened it and came outside. "Xezi-chaaan!" She grabbed ahold of him in a tight bear hug. "Your weekend clothes suit you perfectly, hau!" He arched an eyebrow, looking down at himself upon being let go. What was different about them? His pants were baggier than usual, and he was wearing a light jacket over his usual plain black shirt. _'This Rena...'_ He thought to himself, smiling at her.

* * *

They began to head towards where they were going to meet at the Furude family shrine. He looked around, wondering where the others were at. "Where's everyone? I thought we were meeting here at this time?" He looked down at Rena, who was scanning around everywhere. He rolled his eyes, walking up the steps to where the shrine actually was located. He saw Keiichi, who had his back turned to him. He appeared to be holding... something. Xezion couldn't make out what it was and he quickly turned and ran down to Rena.

"Hey, Keii-kun is up top. Let's go meet him!" He grabbed her arm, tugging her behind him as he went up the steps. He could hear her wailing about wanting to look around down there more for the others. They got to the top and he scratched his head. Keiichi had left? He scanned around, seeing a faint someone run around the corner. He pointed, catching Rena by surprise who jumped quickly looking where he pointed. "I think he went that way. Did we scare him or something?"

He prepared to run, dragging her behind him as he felt her tug away from him. "XEZI-CHAN!" He turned as he saw her tumble down the stairs. As he reached to grab her, he felt a whack on his head as he began to tumble down after her. He looked up just as he hit the bottom, a crazed boy holding a bat in a downwards after-swing position. He looked to his side, seeing an unconscious Rena beside him.

"Kei-i-chi..." He slowly mumbled as he could feel himself losing consciousness. Everything went black.

* * *

After a few moments, he woke up. He had been out for a while, as the sky was an orange color. He jumped to his feet, remembering what had happened earlier. "Keiichi, you!" He looked at the ground where Rena had been last he checked. She was nowhere to be seen. He growled, looking to where he had last seen Keiichi. "Ergh, how could you do such a thing? Where are you?!" He darted up the stairs, seeing the shrine. Hanging from one of the buildings over hangings by a rope tied to her legs was Rena. She was still unconscious, or at least appeared as so. Her clothes seemed really battered and ripped, and her body had several bruises.

"What the?!" He looked around. Hanging from another one was Mion; her appearance similar to that of Rena's. Was this Keiichi's doing? He narrowed his eyes running to where Mion was first. She was the one closest to Keiichi. He quickly pulled her down, laying her in front of him. He shook her, attempting to wake her up. "Mion! Mion!!" Her eyes squinted as she looked up at him.

"X-Xezi-kun? Xezi-kun! I am sorry... I am so sorry. I don't know why he did this... " She sat up, draping her arms around him.

"What happened?" He pulled her away slightly.

She sniffled looking at the ground. "Keii-chan... He.... I walked to the meeting spot and saw Keiichi grab Rena from behind and throw her down the steps and then whack you down after her. I couldn't do anything to help!" She buried her face in her hands. "Then he dragged Rena to the top and began to beat her. I ran up after him and pushed him away, yelling at him but he swung at me quickly. I didn't think he would attack me..." She cried a little more.

"This is strange... Where's Satoko and Rika-chan?" He arched an eyebrow. Mion shrugged and he stood up. "Stay here. Please try and get Rena down for me. I need to find them. If he is going to attack them, it'll be much harder for them to fight back." Mion gasped, looking up at him. Had she not thought about this yet? He shook his head, running back to the steps and running down to the bottom. He quickly made his way to his house. Everyone seemed to be missing from the streets and everywhere else. Was this how it was like on the festival? They must all be where it's being held. Perhaps the little ones were there somewhere. Rika was supposed to be the Miko. But even so, weren't they supposed to meet them at the shrine as well?

He narrowed his eyes, making a turn off the path heading towards the festival and began heading towards his house. He pushed his door open, his dad nowhere to be found, and he ran up the stairs. He entered his room, rummaging around for a while. "Dammit! Where'd I put that thing?"

He heard a bang as his door slowly flew open. His dad was standing there, a black katana to his side. "So the time as come, has it son? I told you I would keep ahold of this. Don't forget; don't do anything too drastic." His father threw him the sheathed sword. He caught it, strapping it to his side. Quickly he ran out the door past his father, heading outside. Quickly, he made his way back to the shrine. Perhaps Keiichi was still near? He growled as he turned heading to the shrine.

* * *

**((Note: Yes, father, the time truly has come. Next chapter, at least. Heh. I'd make it longer, but I want to leave you guys waiting. I hope it is as good as the others were... I worked kinda hard thinking of what to do next. Thanks for reading!))**


	6. The Unusual Chapter Six, Dead End

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: I will probably start up with putting up chapters more often again. There was a point in time when I was putting them up after a day or two... Perhaps I shall do that again, though I may want to wait a few days between, heh. Thanks for some of the wonderful reviews I have gotten. Hope people actually enjoy my story. Not too sure where I am going with this chapter just yet. Though I do know what I want to happen. We will both just have to see, huh? Quite a bit of violence here. This is most likely the end part for the Unusual Chapter.))

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**"Itsuninai-hen Sono ****Roku** –** Nai Ate" (****奇怪し編 其ノ****六**** 行き止まり****)**

"The Unusual Chapter Six – Dead End"

* * *

Xezion growled as he made his way up the Furude shrine steps. He could hear noises from atop; beating noises; crunching noises. He got to the top of the steps, first looking to where Mion had last been. She had moved from there and as he glanced to where Rena was originally, he saw Mion. Moving closer, he could see a figure nailed to the wall.

"Mion! What happened here?" He yelled as he walked up behind her. He spun her around to face him, noticing that all trace of the original Mion was gone. She reached up, grabbing his neck to choke him.

"M-Mion?" He struggled to break free of her grip. He could feel the life leaving him. He gasped, finally kneeing her in the stomach. She took a few steps back, holding her stomach. "What are you doing?!"

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the shrine wall. Rena was suspended by what appeared to be an old time scythe, used to harvest grain. His mouth gaped open as he fell to his knees. "Rena-chan..." He growled, standing up and backhanding Mion. She fell over onto the ground. "You were supposed to help her!"

Mion began to cackle maniacally, standing back up slowly, her gaze transfixed upon the ground in front of her. "Keiichi-kun... I did just as you asked... I beat my self against the shrine wall for you... I let you hang me in order to trick this simpleton... I even pretended to be a victim... It was all for you. I even impaled Rena on this wall!" Mion's head flew back quickly and she began to laugh some more. Xezion growled loudly, looking again at Rena. Her eyes were glazed over, and she appeared to be looking directly at him. Her face had a few streams of blood across it, and there was a pool of blood forming on the ground beneath her. The blood was still dripping from where the scythe was holding her in place.

Xezion narrowed his eyes as Mion leapt towards him, attempting to knock him to the ground. "NOW IT'S YOUR TURN, XEZI-CHAN!" He attempted reaching for his sword, but was knocked to the ground. "AAAH HA HA HA HA!"

He struggled to get his arms free, as she held him down with her body while holding his wrists tightly together with her left hand. She slowly reached behind her, grabbing something from her pocket. She pulled it to her front, hitting the trigger. 'BZZT BZZT' His eyes grew wider as he realized that there was a tazer being brought towards his neck.

"M-Mion, stop!" He finally broke his arm free, grabbing her by the collar and standing up. "Snap out of it! This isn't like you!" She just laughed as she brought the tazer near his face. He smacked it away, throwing her to the side. She began to convulse, causing Xezion to take several steps backwards. After a few moments, she stopped moving and he decided to leave her; it was Keiichi who convinced her to do these things, he knew it. She was brainwashed by love.

Drawing his sword, he stepped past Mion, preparing to go down the path he had seen someone go down earlier during the day; perhaps one of the little girls, if it wasn't Keiichi, whom he had originally thought to have been the one. He heard a gasp behind him, and after a few moments, he felt hands cling onto his throat from behind.

"I AM NOT DONE WITH YOU YET, XEZI-CHAN! DIE!" He felt something cold on his spine. Without hesitation, he shifted his body to the left slightly and flipped his sword upside down and stabbed behind him. There was a soft 'SPLICK' and he felt his weapon become buried in the stomach of his attacker. He felt the grip fade from his throat and he quickly withdrew his blade, whirling around to face the perpetrator.

Mion held onto her stomach. Blood was seeping out from between her fingers as she gasped for air, collapsing to her knees. "X-Xez... Xezi-ch-chan..." Her mouth was gaped open as she slowly fell over onto her stomach. Sighing, he wiped his blade on his pants leg, sheathing it.

"Mion....." He closed his eyes, turning around, breaking into a run and began to head down the path he was planning to follow earlier.

* * *

Satoko ran across a bridge over looking a river about 500 feet below. She was out of breath and was just about to collapse from exhaustion. She glanced behind to see if she was still being followed. She quickly made her way to a tree on the opposite side of the bridge, leaning against it to regain her breath. "Nii-nii..." She wiped some tears from her face. "How could you do this to me? I thought you would be my new Nii-nii!" She began to cry again as a hand landed on her shoulder. She jumped, yelping in terror as she noticed it was Rika. She was panting, and the left half of her face was covered in blood.

"S-Satoko-chan..." Rika's voice was dark, as she collapsed beside her friend. "After you ran off, I tried to hold Keiichi off.. He... He got me... " Her eyes appeared as though her pupils didn't exist and she looked at Satoko, who shivered, tears forming in her eyes.

Satoko quickly stood up as she heard a 'THUNK' behind Rika. Her eyes rolled back into her skull as she fell over in front of Satoko, revealing Keiichi. "R-Rika-chan!" Satoko tried to pick up Rika, but the added weight of the hatchet in her back made it nearly impossible for the small girl. Quickly, she turned to run.

"SATOKO!" Keiichi broke into a mad dash after her. He chased after her as she made her way across the bridge again. Upon stepping off the bridge, she made a turn, running into another person.

* * *

Xezion blinked as he felt something collide with his body. He looked down quickly, seeing a scared and whimpering Satoko, cowering against his chest. Looking up, he saw Keiichi barreling towards him. Quickly, he picked up Satoko and leapt to the side. Keiichi stopped quickly, whirling to face him.

"Xezion... " He glared at him. Xezion pushed the little girl behind him. "Hand 'er over!" Keiichi slowly stumbled towards Xezion. "_What's going on here?" _Xezion quickly backed away, urging the little girl to run away.

"RUN SATOKO!" Keiichi charged at Xezion, swinging his bat downwards at him. Sidestepping his swing, he drew his katana, swinging at the boy. Keiichi blocked it with his bat and kicked Xezion away.

"Hehehe..." Keiichi didn't seem to have control over himself or his actions any longer. Xezion growled leaping at the boy. _"I have no choice..."_ He swung downwards at Keiichi, who, in return, swung upwards at Xezion. His attack missed, striking into the bridge post. Keiichi's swing, however, hit Xezion in the side of the head. He stumbled a bit, letting go of his sword, dropping to a knee. Growling, the boy swung the bat at him again, trying to get in a cheap shot. Catching the bat, Xezion stood up, punching Keiichi hard in the gut. "GUAH!" He stood back, holding his stomach. Quickly, Xezion grabbed his sword, running in the direction Satoko had gone.

"AAAAH!" He heard Keiichi slam the metal bat on the ground multiple times. He sighed as he could see the shrine again in the distance.

"Satoko! Are you there?" He said as he turned the corner on the side of the shrine from before. He arched an eyebrow, looking around. "Mion?" Her body was... missing, and upon further inspection, the body of Rena was missing as well. Narrowing his eyes, he ran further ahead, looking around again. "What? Where'd Mion go? Is she still alive?" His head was swirling as he heard foot steps moving in his direction at a very fast pace from behind.

He ducked down, preparing to side sweep. "Xezi-chaaan!" He looked up to see Satoko. Quickly, he hugged her.

"Oh, Satoko. I am sorry about all of this." He patted her on the head as she buried her face in his shoulder. "Mion.. and Rena are dead as well..." Suddenly the girl lifted her head upwards.

"Mion and Rena? How's that possible? I just saw Mion walking with Rena a few moments ago. She said that Rena and her had been attacked and they were going for help. Rena looked unconscious." The little girl looked scared.

"Satoko... Mion and Keiichi are working together. Mion tried to kill me." He pointed at his throat, which he assumed had bruises from her choking him. The girl just kinda tilted her head, staring at him. "She impaled Rena with a scythe!" Satoko backed away from Xezion.

* * *

Satoko took a few more steps backwards. Xezion sounded like Keiichi did, though a bit different. "Xe-Xezi-chan! I thought you could help me." She cried a little more. "But you sound just like nii-nii... I don't believe you! I think you are the one working with Keiichi-kun!" She backed away a little more. She thought about how Mion had walked past her holding Rena over her shoulder to support her. There was no way what Xezion was saying was correct, at least, not to her. She seemed to recall that Rena was looking down and that her body was wrapped in some of the wall paper from the shrine. Shaking her head she backed away even more.

"Satoko, you don't understand. I am trying to help you." She shook her head as he began to stand up. After a few moments of pleading, his face got stern. "SATOKO LOOK BEHIND YOU!" Before she could respond or even look behind her, a shadow loomed over her, swinging downwards on her little skull. Xezion looked away as he heard several cracking sounds and diminishing yelps of pain along with crazed laughing.

* * *

"Keiichi... you..." Xezion drew his sword, standing up again. He glanced once, seeing the crumpled and beaten body of the now motionless girl. Quickly, he leapt at the boy, enraged by such a monstrous act. "She was only a child!" He swung downwards, catching Keiichi by surprise, who just barely blocked the blow. Quickly, Xezion brought it around horizontally, again barely being blocked. Finally, he thrusted forward, stabbing Keiichi in the stomach. Keiichi gasped for air, dropping his bat and grabbing the blade rapidly trying to pull it out, only to cause multiple cuts on his hands.

"AAAAAAUUUH!!" Keiichi gave up falling to his knees. Xezion quickly whipped the blade out, swinging it at Keiichi's neck, decapitating him. Behind him, he heard a ear splitting cry and something drop to the ground followed by quick foot steps approaching him from behind.

"Keiichi-kun!" He felt a familiar grasp around his throat. "You killed my Keiichi-kun!" He could feel her grasp tighten as everything began to turn black.

"M-Mi.... on..." He choked. No air was getting to his lungs. His life was escaping him.

* * *

Mion laughed as she tightened her grip again. She felt a crack and looked up shocked. Smiling, she dropped the body to the ground. "I killed him, Keiichi-kun!" She laughed running to the body of the boy. After a few moments of standing over his body, not know what to do, she finally dropped to her knees. "What have I done?!" She cried, looking at his body, then back at Xezion. She crawled rather shamefully to Xezion, shaking him, attempting to wake him, as if he were asleep. His eyes were lifeless, staring up at her. She shivered, placing her head in her palms. "I am so sorry everyone..."

* * *

Behind the girl, there was a commotion as a few people, notably police officers, rushed up the shrine steps.

"There's a girl here. Looks like Rena Ryuuguu."

"Ugh... She's dead!"

"Hey! There's someone up top!"

They all rushed up the steps; a crying Mion crying beside a beaten corpse of a little girl, a decapitated boy who was relatively new to the village, and another boy who was relatively new to the village was all they could see. Scanning the horizon, they could see where a fight had taken place in front of two of the shrine buildings. Shaking his head, Oishi, the oldest police officer on the force, helped Mion Sonozaki up.

"I'm gonna have to take you in... I am sorry... Search for a little girl with blue hair, most likely she got her too." Oishi quietly dragged Mion with him down the steps.

* * *

Oishi sat at his desk, chewing on his pen. According to what he was able to get from Mion Sonozaki, she had been the one to kill them all, but according to the diagnostics, the katana belonged to Xezion Musuashi, who killed Keiichi Maebara, who had killed both Satoko Hojo and Rika Furude, who's body they found about one third of a mile from where everyone else had been. The evidence showed that Mion Sonozaki had killed both Xezion Musuashi and Rena Ryuuguu. Also, according to what he had found, Keiichi had beaten both Mion and Rena with a bat while Mion also had been stabbed with Xezion's katana. He shook his head, sighing. What had these kids been doing? It looked like a horrid game of Murder's Tag, where one person is the murderer and tries to kill everyone else before getting killed themselves. Things didn't feel seem to add up.

He sighed moving the case files around a bit, revealing another case file. He opened it up, looking it over. Tomitake Jirou had been beaten and then clawed out his own throat while the supposed body of Takano Miyo had shown up, burned to a crisp. If the kids all killed each other, who was responsible for the deaths of these two?

Oishi sighed, closing everything inside of another case folder labeled "Hinamizawa Cold Case". He put the case in his desk, and left the office, switching off the lights behind him. "It's just another unsolvable mystery brought about by this little old town..."

**((Note: Alright, that is the end of The Unusual Chapter. Next arc shall start up.... soon, hehe. Hope you enjoyed!))**


	7. The Remnants Chapter One, Visitor

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: New Chapters, new chapter name. I hope you like it. I worked hard on this. Also, there may be a few new things added in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy! Thanks for all the great reviews in the last chapter as well; I really enjoy reading them. ^.^))

* * *

**

**"N****okorimono****-hen Sono Ichi** – **R****aihin****" (****残り****し編** **其ノ****壱 訪問者****)**

"The Remnants Chapter One – Visitor"

* * *

Mion slowly walked down her hallway. It was about midnight, and her throat was dry. After not being able to fall back to sleep, she decided to get up and go get some water; maybe the walk would help. Slowly, she made her way towards the kitchen. Upon getting near the living area of the house, she heard two voices. Quietly, she pressed against the wall, listening closely.

"You know how we feel about you being here... But that's all in the past." Mion could hear her grandmother speaking to someone.

"Yes, grandmother... I understand. I will do my best to stay out of the affairs of the family..." Mion arched an eyebrow peering around the corner. Her twin sister Shion sat at the table across from their grandmother. _'Sh-Shion?!'

* * *

_

Mion had gone back to bed after what she had found out; though she didn't sleep well in the least. Upon seeing the light shine through the window, she sighed and slowly jumped out of bed and got dressed. She patted down her calve length pink skirt, making sure it was even and stared into a mirror, fixing her little tie and buttoning any buttons she may have missed on her shirt. "There!" She smiled, running from her room, her skirt bottom flailing up slightly. She made her way into the living area, not seeing Shion anywhere. _'Maybe I imagined her being here...'_ She shook her head and ran to the door and slid it open.

"Surprise!" Shion grabbed Mion in a bear hug from behind.

"Sh-Shion?!" She quickly turned around to face her sister, who let go while laughing. "What are you doing here?"

"I came back to visit you. I thought it'd be fun." Shion smiled brightly while Mion just stared. _'Yeah... Right...'_

Quietly Mion turned around, heading to where she usually met Keiichi and Rena. "Well, I better get going. Later Shion!" Shion smiled as Mion left the house. _'Least I don't have to deal with her at school...' _Quickly, with a smile on her face, she ran down the forest path towards the usual post and shack meeting spot. Keiichi was all she could think about. After a short time, the trees cleared and she could see for a long ways; the little shack sitting there along with two figures waiting beside it.

"Heeeeey guuuuys!" She yelled, running up behind them.

"Ah, Mion, you're late." Keiichi laughed, rubbing his nose gently. Acting like the feelings for him didn't exist, she laughed.

"Well, we can't always get here on time. Haha!" She grabbed him in a headlock and started rubbing his head gently with her knuckles.

"M-M-Mion?!" She laughed as he tried to force his head away from her chest area; the place she had inadvertently pulled his head towards during the headlock.

"Heh, Kei-chan. Don't you like it?" She pulled him closer as he flushed and broke from her.

"Ergh!" He pointed and ran at her. Laughing, she ran away, making him follow her around Rena in a circle.

"Keiichi-kun, Mi-chan... We're going to be late..." Rena interrupted, sticking her arm out as Keiichi ran by. His feet flew out from under him and he fell backwards onto a quickly on coming Mion. She fell over on the ground, Keiichi in her lap, while turning bright red in the face.

"K-Kei-chan?!" She shook him gently. He seemed slightly out of it; or maybe he was just faking so he wouldn't get hit. He was face down in her lap, having spun around slightly after Rena's clothesline. Either way, once he didn't answer, she whacked him on the back of the head.

He coughed in slight anguish, jumping up, "M-Mion!" His face was flustered, and he quickly turned around to run towards the school.

"I'm gonna get you!" Mion yelled, racing after him. Rena, whose face was slightly red from causing such a thing, quickly ran after the two.

* * *

Everyone settled down in their seats as the Chie-sensei entered the room. "Alright class, we have some great news. First, we shall introduce our newest student, Xezion Musuashi." She smiled as a boy with dark purple hair that fell to his mid-back walked in. Mion arched an eyebrow as she looked the boy over. His eyes were cold, unmoving from where he stared. His glare was placed upon Keiichi. _'Do they know each other?'_

She shook her head as he quickly walked over and sat beside Rika, the obvious place the teacher would have placed him. She tried to watch the new boy, but her attention turned back to the front of the classroom upon hearing the teacher say; "I would also like to introduce a returning student, Shion Sonozaki!" The teacher motioned at Shion as she walked in the classroom. Mion nearly had a heart attack.

"Sh-Shion?! You never said you'd be coming here!" She was completely surprised, quickly trying to regain composer. Shion made her way to a seat near Mion.

"Hey Mion." Shion waved from her seat. Before she could respond the teacher cleared her throat.

"I nearly forgot, one more new student will be joining us from today onwards. Tsuki Tomoshiba." A girl about a foot shorter than Mion entered the room smiling. Her hair was light purple and fell to about where her thighs began. She smiled a bright perfect smile while her sky blue eyes glimmered in the light. She laughed as she rocked on her heels. "Take a seat over there, in front of Keiichi, the boy with the brown hair." Quietly, the girl made her way to her new seat, while her eyes remained on Xezion. Mion finally noticed; both Xezion and Rika were staring in surprise at the girl. _'Weird...'_

After a while, class started. Chie-sensei was teaching the younger kids some shapes, while she tried instructing Keiichi what to tell the others about, considering he was farther ahead, due to his other school, than both Rena and Mion. Quickly, the three pulled their desks together as he began telling them about some random mathematics. Mion's mind was elsewhere, focusing on the new girl, who just sat there, and the new boy who, like Tsuki, just sat there talking with the little blue haired Rika.

Listening closely to their conversation, Mion could make out only parts. Xezion sighed, narrowing his eyes at the little girl, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Rika smiled, "I think things can change thanks to you. They did last time." She watched as Xezion looked away quickly, "Last time...." Suddenly a hand was thrust in front of her face, waving rapidly.

"Mion! Pay attention!" Keiichi yelled slightly. Mion nodded, turning back to her work. After a few minutes she looked up from her desk to where the new girl had been sitting. She had disappeared. Shaking her head, she looked back to her work and suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. She nearly fell out of her chair, turning around to see Tsuki standing there.

"Uhm.. May I work with you guys? I don't know what's going on..." The new girl looked down, slightly flustered from having to talk to the newest students so directly. Mion smiled, nodding her head.

"Sure! Pull up a desk. Tell Xezion over there to come with us." She pointed at the boy with dark purple hair. Tsuki flushed, quickly hiding her face and making her way to where Xezion was. "Huh... new kids are so weird..."

"Yeah they are." Shion said from directly beside her.

"Ack! When'd you get there?!" Mion looked Shion up and down. Somehow, her sister had pulled up her desk and chair without her noticing.

"Mi-chan." Rena began. "She's been here for a while now..."

"Yeah, you should pay more attention, hehe." Keiichi taunted her. Mion puffed up her cheeks, glaring at him. She crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair.

* * *

Tsuki made her way over to where Xezion was sitting. "Hey... The older students over there said to come work with them in their group..." She twirled her fingers, looking at the boy. He looked up from his conversation, staring into the girls eyes. She jumped slightly. "X-Xezion?"

"Yeah, it's me... What are you doing here? This could cause problems..." Xezion looked away. Rika glared up at the girl.

"Or perhaps this is a good thing." The little girl sounded almost as cold as Xezion. Tsuki looked away from the boy. She had found him. It really was the boy she had known from the city. But he was different than before. Quickly, Xezion stood up, hugging her tightly.

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen again like last time" He spoke softly into her ear. _'Last time...'_ She thought as tears began to form. "Things'll be better this time." Xezion moved away from her.

* * *

Quickly the two new students had began to get along. Mion shook her head. Perhaps they knew each other? She just couldn't put her finger on it as the two pulled up some desks. Suddenly, she noticed Rena staring at the two. Her eyes were cold, placed directly on Xezion.

* * *

Rena glared at Xezion. Even if she had been dreaming about a guy who was exactly similar and even named the same thing as the guy she dreamed about staying at her place for about a week the night before, it didn't mean she had to feel this way. She could feel her heart torn apart as she watched them hug, as if they knew each other from before. Rena looked down at her table, a tear slowly sliding down her cheek. _'It was only a dream... Why do I feel as if I have known him longer? Why do I feel love for this stranger?'_

**

* * *

((Note: Alright... I am going to have to end this right here. This gets us started on the next chapter, N****okorimono**-hen. I am only having slight trouble, considering that I am focusing the view more from Mion this time. But I should get the hang of it soon. I hope you liked it!))


	8. The Remnants Chapter Two, Destruction

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Ato Yosomono

When They Cry, A Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry Higurashi) nor do I ever hope or dream of owning Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni or any of the original characters from the series. I do, however, own my own characters or elements present in this story that are not normally present from the series._

**((Note: Alright, so it has been a pretty long time, but I haven't forgotten about this story just yet. Just been... well, I have no excuse. I am lazy. Haha. Anyhow, here is a new chapter. Things'll probably move a bit faster in this arc than in the last... but only slightly faster. This'll mainly follow from Mion and Tsuki's points of view.))**

* * *

**"Nokorimono-hen Sono Ni** – **K****ujo****" (****残りし編** **其ノ****弐****ガイ****)**

"The Remnants Chapter Two – Destruction"

* * *

School came to an end quickly and Mion slammed her hands on her desk. "Alright everyone, let's gather for club activities!" Mion smiled, glaring around and finally resting her eyes on the two new students. "And I deem those two should join."

Mion chuckled to herself as Tsuki gasped in surprise and slowly made her way towards them. Xezion, however, moved to where Mion was located, dragging his desk along with him, without hesitation. Everyone slowly made their way over and soon after, she caught a glimpse of Rena leaving the class room.

"I will be right back!" Mion stood up and ran out the door after Rena. After a few moments, she saw Rena leaving the school building. "Rena, wait!" Mion reached forwards and grabbed her shoulder, spinning the girl around. Rena, who failed to meet eye contact, batted Mion's hand away and turned around, breaking into a run.

Mion arched an eyebrow, turning around to enter back into the school. "I wonder what's wrong with her... must be an off day." She quickly ran back into the class room and quickly took her seat. By this time, all the desks were pushed together and everyone was staring at her.

"Hey, Mion.... Where'd Rena-chan go?" Shion asked quietly. All Mion could do was shrug. She looked around at the others. "Alright! Let's get started! I think we should initiate both Xezi-kun and Tsuki-chan. They seem to have gotten along very quickly. It's like they knew each other before this or something."

Tsuki cleared her throat. "Well.. You see, we kinda did know each other before... I came looking for Xezion..." Tsuki smiled at Mion.

Mion laughed loudly, "Oh ho! I see how it is! You're in love aren't you?" Mion smiled brightly at Tsuki, who quickly hid her face. "I win!" She declared, slamming her hands on the desk and standing up. She noticed Xezion looking to the far left. _'Musta embarrassed him as well.'

* * *

_

Tsuki looked up from her hands after a while and looked out the window. She say a girl standing there, her eyes emotionless, staring back in at her. Her hair was redish-brown, and she had a very melancholy look about her. _'Rena?'_ She blinked and the girl had seemingly disappeared. Was it her imagination? She shook her head and turned back to the group. Mion was prancing about the room, thinking about what she wanted to use as the initiation test.

* * *

"Alright, so, how about..." She smiled, looking at the faces of Shion, Keiichi, Satoko, and Rika, who all smiled brightly. "A little game that I have just made up!" She laughed to herself. "Alright, everyone! Let's head outside. Today's club activity slash initiation test is going to be in the forest." Quickly she stood up and ran outside. The others laughing in excitement, following shortly after her. A few moments later, she stood outside the school, her hands on her hips, breathing in the fresh air.

Happily, she smiled and peered back at the others. "Alright, let's go! Don't get looost~!" She broke into a run and ran down the path heading towards the Furude Shrine. After only a short time, they all came up on it, and she stopped right in front of the steps to the top. "This is the Furude Shrine, Tsuki, Xezion, there is going to be a festival here in only a few days." She saw Xezion arch an eyebrow and make eye contact.

"You don't say..." Xezion mumbled only audible enough for Mion to hear before looking away again.

"Of course, if you two pass the test, you shall be joining us on our activities that day. We shall be helping to set things up the days before and then we shall take part in all of the stands located around during the festival." She smiled, turning around to run up the steps again. She had caught a glimpse of Keiichi's face, and he looked excited beyond belief, while Tsuki had quickly peered over at Xezion.

After a few more moments, the group made it to the top of steps, the shrine visible. Mion pointed to a path around the backside of the shrine. "This way guys." She quickly ran towards the shrine, and then around it as the group followed behind. Quickly they made their way across the bridge and into the forest on the other side.

"It's time... To fight!" Quickly Mion grabbed up a stick from the ground and swung it around a bit. "Heres what we do, everyone grab a stick that they can use as a weapon. Then, we all fight in a giant free for all battle!" She looked around as everyone's face lit up.

"This sounds exciting!" Yelled Keiichi.

"Hmph." She saw Xezion smile and cross his arms.

"Imma win this!" Cheered Satoko.

"Not if I beat you first, Nipah!" Cried the sweet little Rika.

"I'll not lose this~!" Tsuki laughed, placing her hand on her hip and flashing a thumbs up.

"I'm gonna get you guys!" Shion cackled.

Quickly, everyone grabbed a stick from either the ground or a tree. It took a few moments, for some of the group had to traverse farther into the forest or even to the other side of the bridge in order to find one. "Everyone ready?" Mion smiled as everyone made their way back to the clearing in the forest.

Everyone nodded slowly but Keiichi jumped up and down, waving his hand quickly. "How do you determine who wins or loses?" Keiichi arched an eyebrow at the green haired girl, who laughed loudly.

"First you must disarm them. During such time, they must grab their lost weapon up. Second, while they are disarmed, you must place your weapon against their throat, as if you were going to cleave their head. If they are holding their weapon during such time, it won't count. Also, they can't touch the sides of their own or their opponents weapon that would be considered the bladed edge." Mion laughed. "Anymore questions? Now, everyone, spread out and count to thirty, then try to survive~! Last one standing wins this club activity!" Quickly, she turned running across the bridge. "The game can take place over any area in the village~!" She yelled behind her.

* * *

Xezion smiled, running deep into the forest. _'Free training, the way I see it. I will win this.'_ He chuckled as he jumped up into a tree and peered downwards.

* * *

Satoko quickly ran across the bridge shortly after Mion and hid behind the shrine, climbing onto the top. _'This'll be easy.'

* * *

_

Rika quietly walked through the middle of the forest, speaking to herself silently. "The number of strangers is increasing... First with Keiichi, second with Xezion.. and now with this Tsuki... Can these three help to change this endless cycle?"

* * *

Shion quietly stalked behind Mion. _'Mion, Mion. I will beat you at your own game.'

* * *

_

Keiichi chuckled jumping up and down in the clearing. '_I won't move from this spot. I shall just count right here and get moving.'

* * *

_

Tsuki ran through bushes and trees, finally jumping into a bush. _'I can't lose to Xez-kun.' _Slowly, she counted to thirty. "One... two.. three..." Finally, she counted to thirty and quickly stood up, breaking into a run. "I will beat you, Xezion!" She growled, running back to the clearing from before. After a few moments, she came across Keiichi, who quickly swung at her.

"Ha! I knew this was the best spot to stay!" He yelled as he quickly swung at the girl, who dodged just about every one of his strokes, except for the one he brought down over head, which she quickly blocked, and knocked away. While he stumbled, she quickly smacked his hand with her weapon, causing him to drop his. "Aw, hey?!" He quickly moved to pick it back up as the girl swung towards his throat. Quickly, he rolled, grabbing up his weapon, and swinging upwards, knocking her weapon into the air. She got wide eyed as Keiichi stood up and brough his weapon closer to her throat. Before it could touch, the girl arched back, doing a somersault kick, smacking Keiichi's weapon out of his hands. She landed on all fours, and quickly stood up, holding her hand upwards as her weapon landed gently in her hand.

"Hmph." She quickly placed her weapon on his throat, as he was clearly surprised by the flip. "Didn't know I was so good, huh?" She smiled as he slowly shook his head and looked at the ground.

* * *

Mion made her way down the village streets, seeing several people stare at her. "Playing another club game there Mion?" She quickly nodded her head, waving at the women.

"Sure am, Miss." She yelled as she ducked behind a corner. It had been well over thirty seconds. After a few moments, she felt a shadow over head and she rolled to the side as her first opponent slammed their weapon down on the spot where she was once standing.

"MION!" Shion shrieked. "I'm going to get you!" The girl stood up after her jump from the top of the roofs, swinging at her sister.

"Sh-Shion?!" Mion parried the swing, and pushed her sister away. Quickly, she turned around and ran out into the opening of the streets of Hinamizawa. After a few seconds, Shion chased after, swinging her weapon at Mion, who dodged and swung at her sister, who quickly blocked it and leapt upwards. Mion, taking advantage of the situation, rolled behind her sister as she slammed down and stood up, grabbing Shion's arm and flipping her over onto the ground. Quickly, she placed her weapon at her throat. "Ha~! I win."

Shion laughed, pointing at her sister with her own weapon. "But sis, you didn't disarm me?"

"Crap!" Mion yelled as Shion swung her weapon at Mion's, knocking it to the side and out of Mion's hand. Quickly Shion stood up, preparing to place her weapon at Mion's throat. Mion, thinking quickly, cartwheeled to the side, grabbing up her weapon, and tossing it at her sisters hand, knocking Shion's weapon away and into the distance. Quickly, Mion ran forward, tackled her sister to the ground, landing beside her weapon. Slowly, she smiled at Shion, who shrugged as she picked up her weapon and placed it as Shion's throat. "How bout now, Shion?"

Shion laughed, getting up from under Mion. "Fair enough.."

* * *

Tsuki wheezed as she made her way across the bridge. She saw a flash a red run past, but she shrugged it off. _'I am seeing things again... It looked kinda like Rena...'_ She quickly made her way across, then ran to the front of the shrine. Looking around, she saw a person laying on the ground in front of the shrine. Arching an eyebrow, she made her way towards the person. She gasped, placing her hand on her mouth. It was the little blond haired girl, Satoko, sitting in a puddle of blood, nearly cleaved in half. _'Oh... my... god... Who could have done this?' _She quickly turned around, running back across the bridge. She had to find Xezion and fast.

* * *

Xezion made his way through the forest slowly, looking around slightly. He hadn't seen anyone except for Keiichi who had declared that he had lost to Tsuki very easily, of which Xezion laughed saying 'What can I say? Our friends and us used to spar all the time in my backyard." He sighed at the thought of the good times he had before. _'Have to get all of this situated...'_ He thought as he nearly tripped over a small person. Quickly, he turned to help the person, who turned out to be the little Rika.

"Oh? It's only you Xezi-chan..." Rika spoke softly. "How fairs you?" She tilted her head, her weapon clearly behind herself.

"Uhm, good I suppose. Though I haven't ran into anyone except for you. Guess I have to fight you, huh?" He clenched his weapon. The girl only shook her head, turning around.

"I get no enjoyment out of hunting my friends." Her voice was dark as she slowly walked away from him.

Quickly, he walked behind her. "Yeah... I can understand... I don't either.. Perhaps I am purposely avoiding people today--" Before he could finish, the girl whirled around throwing her weapon to the side, her face expressing her extreme anger.

"You couldn't possibly understand how it is to relive a repeating hell! Waking up, just knowing that all of your friends and yourself are going to be killed and having nothing you can do to stop it! Then, once they all die... It just... starts over...... and repeats.. and keeps going... until you just know there is nothing to do..." The girl collapsed to her knees, her voice had started out dark and scary as she yelled at him, but her voice slowly grew softer, yet still dark.

Quickly, he knelt down, pulling the girls chin upwards so that he could look into your eyes. "So... You're the one dad said I needed to find." The girl arched an eyebrow

"What do you mean I am the one your dad said to find?" Rika sniffled, looking into his eyes. He sighed, looking around quickly.

"Look, it's hard to explain, but I actually know what you are dealing with." His face was stern, his eyes still locked onto hers. "You see... I have the same issue... Tsuki is one of my friends from where I used to live." Quickly he stood up, and turned around. "And... I remember what you told me the first time we truly met. 'You're not supposed to be here.' Right?"

He turned around as the girl nodded. It seemed she hadn't lied, and also believed what he had said now. "Well then, if I can help you, will you help me?" He placed his hand on the little girl's shoulder as she looked into his eyes. Quickly she smiled, and placed her hand on his.

"Of course." She tilted her head, smiling brightly.

* * *

Tsuki gasped for air as she came to a halt in front of Keiichi. "Keiichi-kun... Satoko has been--"

"Defeated? I bet! That little runt couldn't stand a chance against Mion and Shion!" He smiled, looking into the girls' oddly horrified face. "But why do you look so shocked? She's a wimp." Quickly the girl grabbed him by the throat and pushed him into the tree behind him.

"Keiichi! You jerk! She's dead! Someone has killed her." Tsuki growled, releasing him as his huge grin, turned into a horrified frown.

"What.. What do you mean? How is she dead? I thought this was just some fun and games.... erm..... game." He looked into her eyes. "I get it! You're trying to psyche me out!" He was slammed into the tree by the girl.

"What would I bother doing that for? I already beat you at this little game. Someone has died, and whoever it is could be after any of us. We have to warn the others." Quickly he nodded and she released him, running deeper into the forest. "Try to find Mion or Shion and let them know!"

Nodding his head, he turned and ran across the bridge, his weapon in hand.

* * *

**((Note: I best stop here for I am going to end up finishing this chapter really soon if I don't. Haha.. I hope you enjoyed it. I am sure it's quite obvious who is behind this. She truly does crack easily, doesn't she? Tell me what you all thought!))**


	9. HigurashiYosomono Update Information

To whom it may concern:

It's been a while since I worked or even thought about this story. However, I'm thinking of continuing soon. Not sure when, but soon. A few things I'm going to have to do first is read through my story to find where I left off and get a refresher and, in doing so, remind myself where I was heading. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Then I need to get OpenOffice back on my computer. That's currently downloading from the site as we speak and if you are reading this as a note in my story rather than a review, you'll see that I successfully got it downloaded. I also will need to get a few resources. Such as the kanji and katakana I used at the start of each chapter. I have to find the site I used for this along with the site I used to see the Higurashi chapter names format. Anyways, anyone who liked my reading, I hope you look forward to my continuing!

* * *

As stated above; if you are reading this, then I got **OpenOffice** back on my computer. Installing it took longer than typing all of this up. Really, most of this message is to waste time til it gets finished. I recently got a NEW computer. A laptop, actually...** To-shi-ba!** It's great. I also moved, like, half the country away from my hometown; Texas to Florida. Anyways, after I get this up, I'll start gettingresources back and reading my story for a refresher.

_P.S. If you didn't notice the strange paragraph spacing and positioning- I was bored._

_ Sincerely and Truly;_

_ ~Xezion Musuashi~_


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